In a large bowl, combine the Piment d'Espelette, Pimentón de la Vera or other smoked hot paprika, the hot paprika and the fine sea salt. Add the nuts and toss to evenly coat them with the spices. Add the olive oil and toss again to evenly coat the mixture with the oil. Spread the nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Put in the oven and toast, shaking the pan from time to time, until the nuts are fragrant and begin to pop, and are crisp and golden, about 12 minutes. The nuts can be stored in an airtight container for up to two weeks. Makes 2 cups.

To roast the peppers: Preheat the broiler. Put the peppers 3 inches from the heat and cook, watching them carefully and turning them often with tongs (do not pierce the skin). The skin should blister, but not burn. Once the skin shrinks and peels away from the peppers on all sides (about 25 minutes), remove from heat, put them in a large bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the peppers cool thoroughly, about 10 minutes. Take them out of the bowl. Remove the charred skin; carefully remove the seeds and slice into lengthwise strips.

In a heavy-duty stock pot, combine the oil, onion, and salt and cook, covered, over low heat until soft, 3 to 4 minutes.

Add the roasted and sliced peppers and cook 4 to 5 minutes more. Add the potatoes and the stock and cover. Cook until potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes.

In a food processor or blender, purée the mixture in batches. (Do not place the plunger in the feed tube of the food processor; the heat will create a vacuum and the liquid will splatter.) Stir in the curry powder, ginger and salt. Taste for seasoning. Serve in warm shallow soup bowls. Drizzle with best-quality olive oil or a nut oil of your choice. Makes 12 half-cup servings.

Scallop Seviche with Smoked Trout, Trout Eggs and Tangy Lime Cream

1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice

1/4 tsp. fine sea salt

1/2 cup light cream

2 tbsp. finely minced fresh chives

12 large sea scallops (1 1/2 to 2 inches)

8 slices (about 12 ounces) smoked trout or smoked salmon

2 tbsp. trout or salmon eggs

Zest of 1 lime, preferably organic

In a small jar, combine the lime juice and the salt. Shake to dissolve the salt. Add the cream and chives. Shake to blend. Taste for seasoning. Store covered and refrigerated, for up to 1 week. Shake to blend again before using.

Gently and lightly rinse the scallops and pat dry with paper towels. Remove the little muscle on the side of the scallop and discard. Cut each scallop in half horizontally. Put in a shallow bowl and coat lightly with the lime-chive dressing. Toss gently to coat evenly. Set aside. (This can be done up to 30 minutes in advance, refrigerated.)

Put two slices of smoked trout or smoked salmon on 4 large, chilled, dinner plates. Arrange 3 dressed scallops in a small mound on top of the smoked fish on each plate. Garnish with trout or salmon eggs and lime zest. Serve immediately with plenty of toasted rye bread. Makes 4 servings.

To prepare the walnuts: Put the nuts in a small, dry skillet over moderate heat. Shake the pan regularly until the nuts are fragrant and evenly toasted, 3 to 4 minutes. Watch carefully, as they can burn quickly. Remove from heat and transfer to a large plate to cool. Set aside.

To make the walnut-lemon dressing: In a small jar, combine the oil, lemon juice and salt. Cover and shake to blend. Set aside.

To prepare the green beans: Fill a large bowl with ice water.

Fill a 6-quart pasta pot fitted with a colander with 5 quarts of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add 4 tablespoons of salt and the beans, and cook until crisptender, about 5 minutes. (Cooking time will vary, according to the size and tenderness of the beans.) Immediately remove the colander from the water, allow the water to drain from the beans, and plunge the colander with the beans into the ice water so they cool down as quickly as possible. (The beans will cool in 1 to 2 minutes. If you leave them longer, they will become soggy and begin to lose flavor.) Drain the beans and wrap them in a thick towel to dry. (The beans can be cooked up to 4 hours in advance. Keep them wrapped in the towel and refrigerate, if desired.)

To prepare the duck: Using a sharp knife, make 12 diagonal incisions in the skin of each breast. Make 12 more diagonal incisions to create a crisscross pattern. The cuts should be deep, but not go all the way through to the flesh. The scoring will help the fat melt while cooking and will stop the duck breast from shrinking as it cooks. Sprinkle the breasts all over with coarse sea salt.

Heat a heavy-duty dry skillet over medium- high heat. When the pan is hot but not smoking, put the duck breasts, skin side down, in the pan. Reduce heat to medium and cook until the skin is a uniform, deep golden brown, about 8 minutes. Turn the duck breasts and cook them skin side up for 3 minutes more. Turn once again and cook skin side down for 3 minutes more. There will be a good deal of fat in the pan; watch out for splattering.

Remove the duck breasts from the pan and transfer to a warm platter. Season generously on both sides with salt and pepper. Cover securely with foil and let the duck rest for at least 10 minutes and up to 1 hour, to allow the juices to retreat back into the meat.

To prepare the mushrooms: Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Add the mushrooms, season lightly with salt, and sauté just until they begin to give up their juices, 1 to 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the mushrooms to a platter to drain.

With paper towels, wipe out the skillet. Melt the butter over moderate heat and return the mushrooms to the skillet. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes more. Off the heat, sprinkle the mushrooms with parsley, and toss to coat. Season with pepper.

To make the salad: Put the arugula in a large bowl. Add just enough walnut-lemon dressing to lightly coat the greens. Toss to blend. Taste for seasoning.

Meanwhile, slice the duck breasts: Holding a knife at a 45-degree angle, cut the duck breasts across the grain into 1/2- inch-thick slices. Put the green beans in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the walnut oil. Warm the mixture, tossing to coat the beans, 1 to 2 minutes.

To compose the salad: Put the dressed arugula on the sides of 8 large dinner plates. Arrange some mushrooms and green beans on top of the arugula. Scatter the walnuts over. Put three to four slices of duck breast on the side of plate. Serve immediately. Serves 8.

* Fatted duck breasts can be found in specialty markets or ordered online from Dartagnan.com.

Fig and Hazelnut Bread

1 tsp. best-quality hazelnut oil or canola oil

2 cups dried figs, cubed

1 cup hazelnuts, toasted and left whole

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. fine sea salt

1/2 cup honey

3/4 cup very hot tap water

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Coat a nonstick 1-quart rectangular bread pan with the oil. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine the figs, hazelnuts, baking soda, salt and honey. Add the hot water and stir to blend. Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the mixture and stir to blend thoroughly and evenly. Slowly add the flour, stirring to blend completely. The batter will be fairly thick.

Pour the batter into the bread pan, evening out the top with the back of a spatula. Put in the center of the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven. Let sit for at least 10 minutes before carefully running a blunt knife along the sides of the pan to release the bread. Carefully turn out onto a rack to cool. Do not slice the bread for at least an hour. The bread can be stored for up to three days, tightly wrapped in plastic. Serve in very thin slices. Makes 1 loaf, 24 slices.

Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Oil a 9 1/2-inch springform pan. Set aside.

In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer fitted with a whisk, whisk the eggs at highest speed until pale and thick, about 3 minutes. Add the sugar and continue whisking until the mixture triples in size and is pale, thick and foamy, about 2 minutes more. Continue whisking at high speed and add the olive oil, almond extract, vanilla extract, salt, lemon zest and lemon juice. Sift flour over the mixture, and with a wide spatula carefully fold in the flour.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan, and bake until the cake is golden, springy and shrinks away from the sides of the pan, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Remove to a rack to cool. After 10 minutes, run a knife along the sides of the pan. Release and remove the side of the springform pan, leaving the cake on the pan base. Serve at room temperature, cutting into thin wedges. Garnish with confectioner's sugar and lemon zest or serve with raspberry sauce (recipe follows). Makes 8 servings.

Fresh Raspberry Sauce

1 lb. fresh raspberries (about 4 cups)

1 tbsp. confectioner's sugar

2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

In a blender or a food processor, combine the raspberries, confectioner's sugar and lemon juice and blend.

Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve set over a large bowl to remove the seeds. Transfer to a container and seal tightly. The sauce may be refrigerated for 2 to 3 days, or frozen for up to 6 months. Makes about 2 cups.